Dogwood Hills Tree Farm

Curtis Bontrager joined the workforce at the ripe old age of 12, pulling weeds and picking up rocks at the tree farm owned by his neighbors, Todd and Cindy Lederman. As a homeschooler, he had the flexibility of finishing his homework early enough that he could have an after-school job. And as a member of a large family, he found on-hand cash to be especially liberating.

“I remember the first time going into a gas station and having money to buy a candy bar without having to ask my dad. That was my first taste of freedom!”

Being the “rich sibling” had many privileges, but the biggest benefit was simply the lesson he learned early on about the rewards of hard work. Now he and Melody, his wife and business partner, have taken over that same tree farm, and that early lesson continues to bear fruit.

Dogwood Hills Tree Farm was started by Todd and Cindy Lederman in 1993. After a few years of expanding nursery stock and selling at tree auctions, the Ledermans decided to sell their excavation business of 14 years and dive into the business of trees. When Curtis joined the team full-time, he was the “shovel boy” for their oldest son Joel on installation jobs, and as the company grew he took on different roles. When he got his license, his first solo drive was in a Dogwood Hills truck, pulling a trailer to a job site.

The Ledermans grew the farm from the ground up, creating a strong reputation in the area and building a business with an incredible capacity for growth. Curtis is quick to point out the necessity of those roots: “I bought a business that was in good shape, was healthy, and had a good reputation. We just have

to keep up.” Todd and Cindy still live nearby, and are mentors to the Bontragers.

When Curtis and Melody officially bought the place in 2017, the Ledermans had expanded their stock to around 10,000 trees. In the span of four years, including their purchase of Stanger Tree Farm’s nursery stock this spring, the Bontragers have built that number up to around 27,000 trees on over 100 acres. They carry three primary categories of trees: shade trees (maple, oak, sweet gum, tulip, etc.), flowering ornamentals (cherry, red bud, the titular dogwood, etc.) and conifers (pines, spruces, firs, etc.). Those categories encompass over 140 different varieties. Curtis’s visual memory and extensive row guides help him to keep track of where each tree is. And of course, “I planted most of them. I remember where they are because this is where I spent all of my days.”

Curtis’s memory also helps him keep track of customers and job sites from years back. Dogwood Hills has trees across the Michiana area, serving individuals, landscapers in need of high-end trees for high-end projects, and the cities of Middlebury, Goshen, Culver, Syracuse (around Lake Wawasee), and Dowagiac among others. They planted 200 trees throughout Michigan City’s streets and parks last year, and provide trees for Goshen College and Notre Dame. NIPSCO contracts them for replacement work stateline to stateline. “If you see a freshly-planted tree, there’s a two out of three chance it’s one of ours.” Dogwood Hills trees are identifiable by their straight central leaders from the ground to the tip of the tree, proper branching and spacing, and uniform shape. The Dogwood Hills team attempts to trim every tree they own during the winter, and if they accomplish it Curtis treats everyone to a steak dinner. He notes that, “Like a lot of things, when they’re young you can stake them up and get them the way you want them, but when they’re big you can’t do that anymore.” Not only does this pruning make for an attractive tree, it cuts down on the amount of care required of home and business owners.

Melody, who grew up in Granger but has since fallen in love with Middlebury, matches his long field experience with business acumen. At 16 she passed over typical high school fast food jobs for an internship at a local bank, gaining experience in insurance and basic business principles along the way. They met and married at New Life Christian Center on US-120, where they still attend with their two children, JJ (3) and Piper (2). When they purchased Dogwood Hills, Melody began working in the office providing organization and infrastructure, as well as innovative ideas.

One of her ideas is a brand new business she is launching with her sister to serve their customer base in new ways: Interior Gardens by Dogwood Hills Tree Farm. Interior Gardens sells plants and trees for interior decorating and provides weekly service (watering, dusting, oiling, and treatment) for any number of plants. They offer free installs and deliveries, free replacements if anything dies, and free advice - as well as large-scale design for commercial properties. Via their storefront in Granger (15616 State Rd 23), customers can take Instagram-perfect pictures on swings in front of a massive moss wall, purchase indoor plants, make custom orders, and more. Melody says, “Our belief is that there is beauty in simplicity. You don’t have to buy something plastic, you can take nature and bring it in, and make it look beautiful.” They are planning a grand opening for September 11.

Melody’s experiences may have prepared her to build up Dogwood Hills and launch Interior Gardens, but nothing could have prepared her for Curtis’s obsession with trees. From the day they met, he was always pointing out trees to her, whether because he had planted them, or because they were just “a really cool tree.” She says, “He’s always been

annoying about trees. He would quiz me: what kind of tree is that?” The first tree she learned was the sycamore, by its distinctive camouflage pattern. “I could never remember the name of the tree, so I always had to sing the song about Zaccheus.”

Curtis and Melody have worked hard to build a team of great people. In a time when businesses are struggling to find employees, Curtis has been turning away summer help. Every year they receive 50-75 thank-you notes from customers praising the team members. He chalks it up to “good customer service and people honestly trying to do a good job. It’s a rare commodity these days, and people want to encourage it and don’t want to see it disappear... No matter what, Dogwood Hills would never make it without the team we have. Everyone is vital.”

Part of the strength of the Dogwood Hills team lies in the environment they nurture. “I want to build a place where everybody has the same vision and same goals and it’s a safe place to be. We start our days off with a devotional and a prayer. We understand that we’re called to work. We can enjoy it and not just go and sell trees, but also be an encouragement and a blessing while we do it.”

The Bontrager’s servant-hearted faith is central to how they run their business, and it sustained them through the chaos of COVID. During a time when many businesses had to shut down, Dogwood Hills grew by 25%. Melody says, “We are a Christian company and we run it like a Christian company. Everything we have accomplished and everything we have to show for it is because God has blessed us and His hand is over our company.”

Looking ahead, Curtis and Melody are excited to continue living in and serving Middlebury. They appreciate its sturdy, hard-working values and selfless small-town feel. In this sense, it’s not unlike one of Dogwood Hills’ trees. Curtis says, “The thing I like about trees is that you plant them and they will be there for a long time, especially if you care for them. A lot of them are going to outlive me… Even some of the trees that grow painfully slow and aren’t going to ever mature in my lifetime, somebody’s going to come along and say: that’s a really cool tree.”

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My name is Kaitlin Simons, daughter of Laura and Gerry Simons, and I am currently a senior at Northridge High School. I am a diver on the Northridge Swim and Dive Team. I have been a 3 time state finalist coming in 9th my freshman year, medaling 5th my sophomore year, 3rd my junior year, and shooting for state champion senior year. The thing I enjoy most about being in a sport is the team. There is so much comradery and love for one another all while pushing each other to be our very best. In addition to diving, I am Treasurer of National Honor Society, Vice President of Junior Optimist Club, and I participate in Science Olympiad and Band. During the fall I play the clarinet for Marching Band and the rest of the year I play the oboe for Symphonic Band. After high school I plan to continue diving into college, though I’m still unsure where at. I want to study something in the Health Science field like Dietetics because I like cooking and baking, or something to do with Biomechanics because I find it fascinating. Wherever I go or whatever I do, I know I will have determination and passion driving me forward.

Earlier this year, 38 acres of land along the Little Elkhart River in Middlebury was acquired by ACRES Land Trust, an organization headquartered in Huntertown, IN. ACRES protects over 100 nature preserves across northeast Indiana, northwestern Ohio, and southern Michigan. Three of their preserves are in Elkhart County, and the Wesdorp Nature Preserve is the newest.

Clarence Wesdorp was the vice-president and general manager of Krider Nurseries, and his daughter Karen grew up near the nursery surrounded by fields of nursery stock. When the nursery closed in 1990, Karen purchased the growing fields and the woods and wetland behind them. Now they will be protected forever as part of the ACRES holdings. Many ACRES preserves are open to the public and most of those have hiking trails. However, for now at least, Wesdorp NP is closed to the public and there are no plans for trails, although the land is visible from the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.

You may have noticed an antenna that mysteriously appeared on the property this summer. This property will be used as a research station in a joint venture by ACRES and the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. The antenna is a Motus tower, one of nine in Indiana. Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a worldwide project to study the movement and/or migration of small animals. Researchers around the world participating in the Motus Wildlife Tracking System fit small, lightweight radio-transmitters on animals such as birds, bats, and large insects. When these animals are within range of a Motus tower, their signal is detected via automated radio telemetry arrays. The data from the towers is sent to the Birds Canada National Data Centre, where it is analyzed and uploaded to the online public network. Each radio transmitter emits a unique signal that allows researchers to determine what type of animal is moving, where it’s going, how fast it’s moving between towers and 16 inMiddlebury Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2021 how long it stays in an area.

Locally, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo has funded the materials to build several towers in northeast Indiana. One is located at the Zoo and the others are on ACRES properties. ACRES staff help the Zoo staff install the towers, and Zoo staff use the data to understand our local fauna. Originally there were three ACRES sites along the same latitude as the zoo. Because the towers’ ranges overlap a little bit, they are able to get a complete picture of what’s moving across that part of the state. Now a second latitudinal line is being established with the Wesdorp tower and another one at Grass Lake NP in LaGrange County.

On June 14 ACRES’ land management staff and summer interns met Zoo staff at Wesdorp to dig a hole and pour concrete for the tower’s base. They gave the concrete time to set and returned July 5 to finish the installation. Land donor Karen Wesdorp also came out to watch the installation. The teams were on site at Wesdorp for 2-3 hours each of the two days. With some maintenance, the towers will remain standing for years to continue tracking wildlife.

Joe Smith, DVM, Director of Animal Programs at the Zoo, said they have detected multiple birds from the four older towers every year. That data is freely available on the Motus website (www.motus.org ). If you click “Explore Data” then “Receiver Locations” you will see a map of the active stations. If you click a station, it will have a link available to see all of the detections that station has received. Though ACRES doesn’t currently use the data, they are happy to partner with the Zoo to offer the necessary space for the Motus towers and be part of a larger international research network. And now Middlebury is part of that international research network.

To find out more about Wesdorp Nature Preserve, the ACRES organization, and how you can become a member or volunteer, visit their webpage at www.acreslandtrust.org/

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